The shut out: Hurting the people on purpose

EDITORIALOctober 03. 2013 8:50PMThe government shutdown was unnecessary and foolish. Now that it has been forced upon us by two intransigent political factions that would rather score points against each other than govern, one would think that at least the executive branch would do its best to minimize the impact on the American public. One would be wrong.

In Washington earlier this week, federal employees erected barriers to block citizens from accessing outdoor memorials that are not staffed. World War II veterans were blocked from entering the open-air memorial dedicated to them. A single barricade was placed in front of the World War I memorial.

The government cannot barricade the White Mountain National Forest. But toilets there have been locked. Tourists were not let onto the grounds that surround the Jefferson Memorial. Why?

The only possible explanation is that the executive branch hopes to impose as much hardship as possible. This is petty partisanship at its worst.